Fly-tipping – know the facts

Wednesday 11 May 2016

47

11 May 2016

The Clean Sheffield campaign is calling on residents to understand what is fly-tipping and work together with the Council to help keep the city clean.

The Council works hard to keep the city clean, with staff sweeping the streets, working in the City’s parks and across the Council’s housing estates. Despite these efforts, each year the Council receives more than 4,000 requests from people reporting fly tipping. Much of this is household waste and the Clean Sheffield campaign is helping residents by giving them the tools and knowledge to enable them to be able to dispose of their waste correctly.

The Council works hard to keep the city clean and prosecutes those who do decide to fly tip their rubbish. Last year alone 16 people were successfully prosecuted for fly tipping.

Residents have a responsibility to check the credentials of anyone they pay to take their waste away. If residents do not carry out these checks, and their waste is fly-tipped then it could be the resident who could face prosecution.

The advice from the Council about how householder’s can protect themselves is by –

Obtaining contact details for the person providing the service, such as an address and a landline, backed up with photo ID

Asking if that person is licensed to transport the waste (known as a Waste Carriers Licence),

Asking to see a copy of the Waste Carriers Licence,

Checking the credentials of the person wanting to take their waste away by contacting the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506

Making a note of the registration number of the vehicle the person is using,

Asking for the address of where their rubbish is going to be taken.

Householders should also be aware that if they pay someone to remove their rubbish, then that waste cannot be taken to any of the Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres. The Household Waste Recycling Centres are for householders to dispose of their own waste. Trade vehicles are not allowed access to the Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Residents are also being discouraged from leaving items such as fridges, tables, chairs or other bulky items on the footpath or outside their house in the hope that it will be taken away. This is fly-tipping and residents could be prosecuted.

Cllr Bryan Lodge, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “As a council, we are committed to keeping Sheffield clean and tidy.

“Leaving white goods such as fridges and washing machines, or other items, on the side of the road is fly tipping. If these goods are traced back to the resident then we can take legal action against them.

“We would prefer residents to use any one of the five Household Waste Recycling Centres we provide or to arrange a bulky collection from your home through Veolia If you choose to use a local trades person with a vehicle then residents should make sure they know who they are and that they are legally entitled to take your waste.

“Disposing of household goods correctly will help to keep our city clean, which will benefit the entire city and its residents.”